Brief case



june 28 1927 s. H. LII-'TON BRIEF CASE Filed May 29,

Patented .lune 28, 1927.

SAMUEL E. LIFTON; OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

BRIEF CASE.

Application led 'May 29, 1924. Serial No.- 716,582.

of the well known bellows type with simple f and effective means for retainingthe case in open or extended position to thereby facilitate the insertion or removal of papers or documents and to enable the same to be easily and quickly sorted and examined 'without necessitating the removal of the entire contests of the case.

Cases of this character are usually provided with a closure flap integral with or attached to the rear wall of the case body, and it is an additional important feature of my present improvements to provide suitable means which will serve to retain this closure flap in a fully open position when the case is expanded so that the flap will/be disposed entirely at one side of the case body and thus permit of the free and unobstructed use of both hands in'the examination of the contents of the case.

It is a further general object of my invention to provide an improved brief case characterized by the essential features above referred to and without greatly increasing the manufacturing or selling cost of articles of this character.

l`VVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved brief case and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of its several parts as-will be hereinafter more fully described,I illus- -trated in the accompanying' drawings andsubsequently incorporatedin the subjoined claims. Y

In the drawing wherein I have illustrated one simple and practical embodiment of the invention and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is aV vertical sectional view of a brief case` embodying my present improve,-4

mcnts and showing the case closed;

Figure 2 is al similar view of the brief case expandedand with the closure flap in open position;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3--3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the case open;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical detail section through the upper end. of the case and the closure iiap; and

Figure 6 is a similar sectional view of'the bottom portion of the caseshowing the case or other suitable material.

expanding member in full lines in its eRective position and in dotted lines in an inoperative position.

The body of the improved brief case as herein shown includes front and rear walls 5 and G respeetively, preferably of leather These front and rear walls of the case are flexibly connected to each other at their side and bottom marginal edges and in the-present instance, I have illustrated this connecting means in the form of a single bellows fold'7 also preferably formed of leather of the requisite thickness and fleiiibility. If desired, the front and rear walls 5 and 6 may each be provided upon its inner side with a pocket by interposing between the marginal edges of said walls and the edges of the bellows fold 7,v the marginal edges of a sheet of l'iexible material 8 and 9, respectively, which may also consist of leather of relatively li ht weight. These ,pocket walls, together with the edges of the bellows fold 7, are Securely attached to the marginal edges of the front and 1riar walls 5 and (i by the line of stitching i In spaced relation to this line of *stitchingV a second line of stitches 11 connects theside walls of the case to the pocket walls 8 and 9, respectively and between said walls and the spaced lines of stitching a marginal reinforcing metal strip 12 is interposed.

The construction of the case body as above described constitutes no essential .part of my present invention which may be readily applied and used in connection with cases of this character otherwise constructed, Une of the important features of my present disclosure consists in the provision of means contained within the bottom of the case for holding the side walls of the case bod and the bellows fold 7 in' expanded con "tion. As herein illustrated, this means consists in ,the provision of a strip of Wood or other relatively rigid material 13 extending substantially across the entire width of the case and preferably covered by a sheet of linen, i

equivalent to the ydistance between the front and rear walls of the case when the bellows fold 7 is fully expanded.

Adjacent to its free longitudinal edge the elemcntl is provided with one part 15 of a snap fastener, the other part 16 of which is arried bythe pocket wall 9. Thus by connecting these fastener parts, the element 13 may be retained in an upright position as shown in Figures l and 6 of the drawings when the case is collapsed.

A suitable closure flap is provided for the open upper endv of the case pocket, and in the present case I have shown this closure flap 17 as constituting an integral extension of the rear wall 6 of the ease. This tiap at its free longitudinal edge carries the usual means whereby the flap may be fastened to the outeil side ofthe front wall 5 of the case.

vAdjacent to the point of juncture of the closure flap with the rear wall 6, I provide a relatively heavy metal strip 18 on the inner side of said flap extending across substantially the entire width thereof and covered bv the strip of leather 19 which is securely stitched at its marginal edges to the flap. The handle attaching loops 20 to which the usual handlev 21 is connected are secured to the closure flap by means of the rivets 22 passing through the ends of said loops, the metal reinforcing strip 18 and the flap 17. Thus it will" be seen that the metal strip 18 serves the two-fold purpose of a reinforcing means, for the flap at the point'of connec tion of the handle loops thereto and as a weighting means for said flap. For this latter purpose, an additional relatively thin metal strip indicated at 23 may be secured to lthe free longitudinal marginal edge of said flap if desired, though this additional metal strip is not essential and may be dispensed with. s

From the foregoing, it will be seen that when it is desired to place a number of papers or documents within'the case, after the flap 17 has been detached from the front. wall-and thrown over to its open position, theflexibly attached rigid element 13 in the base portion of the case may be forced down- .wardly to'a horizontal position, the free marginal edge of said element bearing against the pocket wall 8 onthe front wall 5 of the case body and forcing said latter wall laterally, thereby fully expanding the bellows fold 7 which connects the marginal edges of the case Walls to each other. Thus vthe body Walls of theI case are'held in fully distended or separated position. Also it will be observed upon reference to Figure 2 of the drawmgS that the case when thus 'expanded is self-supporting. The stripl '1,8

onthe closure flap is no t sufficiently heavy to overbalance the case, but this weight strip by gravitational force retains the flap 17 Wholly on one side of the case body so that it does not in any way obstruct the open upper endV of the case. Thus both hands may be inserted intov the case and employed in sorting or examining the papers or documents contained therein or inserting or removing such papers. i

Another advantage incident to the provision of the weighting strip 18 on the closure flap resides in the fact that when the i case is packed witlrpapcrs approximately to the hunt of its capacity, 1n fastening the closure flap over the open end of the case,l

the part of the flap which extends over said open end' of the case is relatively rigid and is thus supported in a position slightly. spaced above the edges of the case walls. Thus this portion of the closure flap will `not buckle or be drawn into frictional contact with the edges of the case walls and the papers therein with possible mutilation of the latter, and the neat appearance of the case is of this character which will be of-great convenience and serviceability in practical use. At the same time, however, in view of the very simple nature of my present improvements, the manufacturing and selling cost of such brief cases is not greatly increased.

In the drawing I have illustrated one typical example of a brief case construction to which my invention is applicable, but the essential features of my present disclosure may also be applied with equal facility and advantage to various other forms and constructions of such cases adapted for' a variety of different purposes. It is, therefore, to be understood that while I have specificallim Ulf)

lll)

ly referred to one embodiment of the invention which I have found very satisfactory in practical use, the several parts thereof are l susceptible of certain minor modifications and I accordingly reserve thev privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

1. A brief case comprising front and rear body walls connected at their side and bottom edges by a fiexible bellows fold, a rigid strip arranged within the case body at the bottom portion thereof and extending substantially the full width and length thereof, and means for liexibly attaching said strip along one of its longitudinal edges to the base of the casebody to thereby permit of the movement of said strip from a position substantially in parallel relation with the case walls to an angular position therebetween whereby saidbellows fold is expanded and the case walls retained in maximum spaced relation, said strip coinciding with the bottom wall of the case.

2. A brief case comprising front and rear `body walls connected at their side and bottom edges by a fiexible bellows fold, a rigid strip arranged within the cascbody at the bottom portion thereof-aud extending substantially the full width and length thereof, means for flexibly attaching said strip along one of its longitudinal edges to the base of the case bod to thereby permit of the movement of sai strip from a position substantially in parallel relation with .the case walls to an angular position therebetween whereby said bellows fold is expanded and the case walls retained in maximum spaced relation, and fastening means to hold said rigid strip in substantially parallel relation with one of the case walls and thereby permit of the relative movement of said case walls towards and from each other, said strip coinciding with th'e'bottom wallofthe case.

3. AA briefcase comprising: stiff front and rear body walls; a flexible bellows fold connecting the two sides and the bottom edgesk of the body walls; a resilient closure flap extending from the upper edge of the rear wall, means to fasten it on the front side of the frpnt body wall; adjustable stitfening means at the bottom of the briefcase adapted either to straighten the bottom bellows V fold into a flat plane or allowing it to be folded together; reinforcing means at the closure flap, adapted to stii'en that part of the Hap which in closing position of the brief case forms the uppermost and handle bearing side wall 0f it. and adapted further, in the open position of the brief case, to keep the latter fully open byibending the flap to the rear inconsequence of the weight of the flap with the reinforcement Aand the handle.

4. A case of the character described comprising a body open at its upper end `and having flexibly connected front and rear' one side of said wall, said metal strip extending over the open end of the case when the flap is closed, and a carrying handle connected at its` ends to said closure flap and the reinforcing strip, said metal strip acting against the normally resilient cover to hold l it in open position.

5. A brief case comprisingzstitf front'and rear body walls: sheets of soft material or lining fixed to the body walls at the inside of the brief case; a exible bellows fold connecting the two sides and the bottom edges of the body walls; a resilient closure flap extending from the upper edge of the rearl wall; a push button arrangement on the end of the flap and on the front side of the front bodywall in connection with a strap and buckle arrangement for fastening the flap on the front sideof the front wall; a rigid stripfixed at the edge of the rear body wall and the bottom wall of the bellows fold, adapted to be laid down on the bottom wall of the bellows fold so as to straighten it into a fiat plane, or to be swung up against the rear body wall; a push button arrangement on the swinging .side of the adjustable rigid strip and on the rear body wall, for fastening the rigid strip iffrraised to the said rear body wall; a loop arranged at the upper end of the sheet of soft material or lining, which is xed to the rear body wall; a reinforcing strip on that part of the closure flap which in closing the brief case forms the uppermost side wall of it; a handle and .means for fastening it atV the closure flap and at the reinforcing strip.

'In testimony that claim the foregoing as my inventlon, I have signed my name hereunder.

y SAMUEL H. LIFTON. 

